Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Kevin Fischer - - Not A Science Major

[Updated, 6/15/16] Kevin Fischer, right-wing blogger, staff aide to State Sen. Mary Lazich, (R-New Berlin), and frequent name-caller from his perches at the Wisconsin DNR, has posted one of the oddest critiques of the state's environmental regulator yet.

He's aimed other goofy, even insulting rants at the DNR, but this one is a doozy.

Fischer attacked the DNR for posting air pollution alerts for Monday and Tuesday in eight lakefront Wisconsin counties, even though he says it was nice and sunny outside

Kevin makes some allegations, does not tell his readers what exactly the alert was all about - - it concerned the likely presence of a pollutant known as "ground-level ozone."

Makes you wonder if this is the level of information that Kevin dispenses when constituents call the good Senator's office.

Do they get a rant, or do they get facts, like these:

You do indeed get a buildup of ground-level ozone during nice sunny daylight hours because:

a) Ozone needs the presence of sunlight to be created when chemicals are released into the air from automobiles and industrial sources.

b) The ozone that forms, and can harm you, is colorless.

So it's likely to be there on certain sunny days, even if you can't see it.

That's the science of ozone formation.

The DNR was simply doing its job, part of which is to issue health alerts when conditions indicate a potential level of various pollutants, whether ground-level ozone or so-called fine particulate matter.

We'd want the DNR to issue the same kind of health warnings if it knew that hazardous compounds might form in a water supply, or were found parks, for instance - - even if those contaminants were not visible to the naked eye.

Even if it were sunny and pleasant outside.

Both ground-level ozone and fine particulate pollutants are dangerous to people with lung and heart conditions, the elderly, small children and people outdoors doing strenuous activities.

1 comment:

capper said...

Not a journalist major or an ethicist either.